


Re:Tales From Zero

by Grimbo5



Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M, subaru gets better powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29588004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grimbo5/pseuds/Grimbo5
Summary: A speculation fic based off of a stupid reddit post. What happens if Subaru had the powers of Sans Undertale? That is the question, and this is the answer.
Relationships: Natsuki Subaru/Satella
Comments: 23
Kudos: 47





	1. Runaway

“Take care.”

Natsuki Subaru. A complete shut in by definition, was once again heading out of his house late. Not that this was his choice of course, he would have gladly stayed in his house for the rest of his life, lazing about and doing nothing, and had it not been for the fact that he shared that house with two of the most impressive people in Japan, he would have. However, Subaru had enough of constantly being treated to the false affection of his parents. They told him that they loved him, and that it was only natural for them to show him affection no matter the situation. Heh. What a bunch of blasphemy. Subaru knows the real reason why they treat him with so much contempt.

‘You’re definitely his kid.’

It wasn’t because they loved him, it was because they wanted to love him. Natsuki Subaru was the only child of the most loved man in all of Japan, or at least all of Tokyo. 

Natsuki Kenichi was in every way the man Subaru was not. He had an unmatched amount of charisma everywhere he went, his body was that of near perfection, his face made every girl around him swoon, he was extremely high up in the company he worked at, not to mention his tireless work ethic and spotless record, and he was married to Natsuki Naoko. He was, in every way, a perfect human being, if one were to exist. And Subaru was his only child.

Natsuki Naoko, Subaru’s mother, was a different story from Kenichi. While Kenichi was extremely outgoing and made friends everywhere he went, Naoko stayed home to ensure Subaru would one day rival his father in “coolness”, as she called it. She, instead of living her best life with her husband, instead tried to ensure her husband’s legacy would be as great as he was, if not more so. Both her and Kenichi thought that their only son, Natsuki Subaru, would be the most amazing child they had ever seen, and surpass all of the others in every way, just like Kenichi. And they had been mostly correct.

Natsuki Subaru, was however, not what they wanted of him. He used to be great at everything. His grades were always high, he was a constant first finisher in any race type he participated in, and he had a lot of friends. His starting point couldn’t have been better, and things went by just as they should have, with Subaru earning honest praise from his parents and peers.

And then, suddenly… he wasn’t. His normal first place efforts became insufficient, and often ended up with him not even placing top five. His grades began to drop, and friends began to leave him in search of others. In a desperate attempt to keep what he had, Subaru sacrificed almost everything he had just to keep his friends around. Jumping into a pool after dark, TP-ing the neighborhood, running through closed parks, anything. Constantly upping the effort just to get a smile and laugh from his “friends”, things escalated. Until the day where Subaru pushed things too far. 

On a class field trip to the Tokyo National Museum, Subaru gathered his accomplices, and set out to spend a night in the museum. They waited until their class had their focus set on something else and ran off. Free to explore the museum, they ran around the Grecian exhibit, Egyptian exhibit, and reached the special Italian arts showroom. Eventually, they found their way into a silent, black room. It was completely unoccupied, and had a sign next to the door saying, “Next Auction: Skull With Burning Cigarette, on April 1st”. The posse entered the room, and Subaru immediately declared it their basecamp for their “Night in the Museum”. The children excitedly ran all over the room, and set out to do some more exploring after ditching their backpacks.

After their return and successful evasion of any guards, they holed up in their little room and waited. After about an hour had passed, Subaru stuck his head out and saw it was completely dark in the museum. After signaling his crew, they began traversing the darkened museum. Eventually, they returned to the Grecian exhibit, where Subaru got a good look at everything in it. One of the members, Toyama Kyou, however, did not look as thoroughly as Subaru did, and ended up bumping into a pedestal.

That moment, time hadn’t really slowed for anybody. It was just a bump and a crash, followed by a few giggles and Kyou being called an idiot, and them hurrying out before someone saw them and their deed. They eventually found their way towards the dinosaur exhibit, to see if maybe things happened just like in the movie. What awaited them was most certainly something that happened in the movies, but not what they expected. The dinosaur exhibit, much like the film they based their expedition off of, was set in the middle of the museum. What awaited the team was not just dinosaurs though. A small unit of police had entered the building, and immediately caught sight of the children.

“Hey, kids! Hold still!”

That day was when the boy that everyone had put so much hope in ceased to exist. Natsuki Subaru, the boy who was just as amazing as his father and mother wanted, was replaced by Natsuki Subaru, the worthless, good for nothing shut-in who did nothing with his time. And his parents still loved him, despite the complete lack of any redeeming qualities. Yeah right. They did not love Natsuki Subaru, but Natsuki Subaru. And Natsuki Subaru was as good as dead.

Despite all of this being so painfully obvious to Subaru, his parents never seemed to get it. They just kept on showering him in affection and support, making promises to a boy that wasn’t there. All of it just kept making Subaru go further and further from the boy he once was, and the chances of him coming back were already pretty slim. Eventually, Subaru just wanted it to stop. To stop letting them down, to let them know that their Natsuki Subaru was long gone, and replaced by a letdown.

And so he did. Today was the day when Natsuki Subaru finally disappeared from everyone's lives, and would let them down only once more. He was done fighting the fact that he was a miserable, slothful creature, and everyone needed to see that. He had no redemption. Today will finally be the day when everyone realizes that.

Before his departure, Subaru just needed some goods to ensure his trip would be a success. His eyes drifted towards a manga section in the convenience store, and before he knew it, he was indulging himself in yet another isekai fantasy.

“Ah, I see. so this is where they suck you in.” Subaru had read many manga, specifically isekai. This was just another boring one, along with the rest.

Subaru, deciding he was done with the boring manga, put it back in it’s shelf. He might be leaving soon, but it wasn’t in his nature to be rude because of it. He owed everyone at least this much respect.

After a little contemplation between ramen bowls, he decided to go with the natto.

As the clerk rang him up, he gave him the total he would be paying. “That’ll be 363 yen.”

Subaru, handed him 500, and waited for his change. When he got it, he noticed a grooved-edge ten yen in his wallet. A fairly rare variant of the ten yen coin from the 1950’s, it was worth its weight in gold. His mother would have made some history related remark about it and then given him a lesson on how the coin was produced.

‘Not now, Subaru. You’re leaving them behind because you don’t want them anymore.’ 

It was an incredibly distasteful thought in the mind of the runaway Subaru. What his parents would have done didn’t matter. It never did to him before, so it won’t now. That was his conclusion.

As he stepped outside, he felt a scanner-like wind blow by him. He could have sworn he felt someone right by his ears, but when he glanced behind him, there was no one.

“I guess anyone’s eyes would be tired after holing up in their room gaming all day.” A little bit of self-loathing snuck into his tone at the end. Not that it mattered. His self loathing was why he was running away anyway.

He crossed the intersection before turning back to make sure there wasn’t someone behind him, and shrugged.

‘Guess this is goodbye then’

Right before he started walking away, he rubbed his eyes. He had to make sure he could at least get out of this city before...wait.

‘When did it get so bright all the sudden?’   
Subaru hadn’t realized that it could get this bright so quickly. He brushed it off as just a car passing by him, and struggled to open his eyes. When he opened them, however, he did not see a car passing by him. What he instead saw was something quite unexpected.

He was in a completely different place. There were… were those people? Whatever. He saw things walking around this flag-adorned plaza he now found himself in. Not only that, but they all seemed to be speaking Japanese. Subaru could listen in on a few held between people, although all he heard was something about copper coins, and sometimes silver. Gradually, Subaru’s mind finally registered that he was no longer in Japan.

Subaru, beginning to give himself verbal reassurance, straightened his posture. “This stuff obviously isn’t fake. Which means…”

Subaru’s mind had now fully registered the information, and had now come to a conclusion that should by all means be impossible. However, he was witnessing the impossible in front of him, with his very own eyes.

As he stared up into the sky and by extent, the sun, he screamed for all the world to hear, “I've been summoned into a parallel world!”


	2. New Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subaru awakens a new ability, and meets an interesting youth.

Subaru’s mood had just had possibly one of the biggest swings in history. Being isekaid was something he read a lot about, and had dearly wished it to happen to him. Why now, of all times, his main heroine chose to summon him, was beyond him. Maybe she saw him running away and though it would be the perfect time to summon him here. He wouldn’t doubt it, if it weren’t for the fact that nobody seemed to care about his existence.

‘Can’t really complain about that since I was a shut-in though.’ 

Subaru’s thoughts on the matter seemed to drift as he walked through the plaza. His eyes, like his mind, were also drifting, and he could have sworn he saw a small blonde child hopping from a strange, lizard pulled cart, onto a rooftop. As he started to connect the architecture with the type that matched it in his mind, he started mumbling to himself.

Putting his hand to his chin, he began his pep-talk. “I guess I can assume this is a fantasy world, with typical medieval-style culture.”

Subaru’s eyes, ever drifting, caught sight of an alligator-like humanoid, and followed his path. This stare earned him an annoyed grunt from the gator man, and Subaru hurriedly continued his analysis of the surrounding world.

“A realm where demihumans are commonplace, and probably stuff like wars and adventures, as well. And here, I’m-” Subaru’s seemingly mad ramblings were cut off by an incredibly girlish scream, followed by several members of the surrounding crowd shouting out warnings to a fallen child in the middle of the street. 

Turning around, Subaru almost instantly realized what kind of event this would be.

An excited Subaru nearly exploded right there on sight. “This is it! It’s my turn! This must be the event where I produce my first magic!”

Subaru immediately struck a pose with his hand out and yelled an odd “Hwaaaggh!”. 

What happened next surprised both him and everyone around him. He felt both his left eye and hand suddenly possess a large amount of an unknown power. When he refocused his vision on the child, he could see that they had a small blue aura around where their heart would be. Subaru, unsure of what to do next, tried to move the child.

‘This must be some sort of magic! I just need to figure out how to use it!’

Subaru's first reaction was to try moving the child with his own mind, as it was seemingly some sort of telekinesis, but that produced no results. As he contemplated what to do next, he allowed his hand to move slightly left. The child started moving slowly towards the left side of the street. Subaru, actually noticing this, flung his hand all the way to the left, sending the child careening towards a wall and an incredibly high speed.

‘Too much force Subaru, TOO MUCH FORCE!’

The child crashed into the wall, but no impact signs were left whatsoever. Oddly enough, the child also seemed to be completely fine, if not for being traumatized by the experience of being flung towards a wall at speeds envied by an F1.

The shocked crowd, muted for just a moment by the boys actions, could only respond with silence.

Everyone stared at the oddly dressed child, who was still on his knees. After pausing for a few seconds, he rose to his feet and struck yet another pose, this one with his right hand to the sky and left on his side.

“My name is Natsuki Subaru! A future hero to this world, and the savior of that child! It is a pleasure to meet all of you!” Although sounding a bit arrogant in the middle of his statement, he was proud of how it sounded.

The crowd, after giving a few more odd looks at the boy, started applauding him. “Good job,weird boy!””Excellent work, Sir Subaru!””A truly noble man you are, Sir Subaru!”

Subaru wasn’t sure where all this “sir” stuff was coming from, but he was basking in all of the praise he received from an introductory event into his story as the protagonist of this world.

‘If this is what I can expect from saving a small child out of the street, then when I defeat the demon king I’ll be heralded as the King of this world! My journey has truly only just begun!’

As the praise and applause started to die down, Subaru took a bow and began to walk away, but was stopped by a sudden hand on his shoulder. He spun around, and caught a quick glimpse of the person who stopped him. It was the boy he just saved, on… this side of the street?

The boy seemed a bit out of it, but managed to put it aside so he could talk to the peculiar man. “Hey mister, I’m really glad you saved me, but could you not fling me towards a wall next time please?”

Subaru realized almost immediately what he had done and began furiously apologizing to the poor boy, who had now survived not one but two crashes into random walls at breakneck speeds. 

“Hey, mister knight, I’m ok, really…” The boy, who realized that this “knight” was probably feeling extremely guilty for harming someone he tried to save, attempted to reassure him.

The apologizing Subaru, once again on his knees, almost immediately stopped apologizing to question the boy.

Confusion in his voice, Subaru began his onslaught of questions, “Knight? I’m sorry, but I’m not a knight, uhhh…”

“It’s Yasuo. Yasutake Yasuo.” The boy replied.

Subaru registered the boys name. It had a nice ring to it, and didn’t sound bad. Yasuo held out his hand to help him up, and Subaru noticed a small lack of energy that he definitely had before.

‘Guess that’s the cost of me using that magic. Not too bad of a cost though!’

The boy after helping him up, gave his own interrogation of sorts, “And I’m pretty sure you’re a knight. Nobody other than the royal knights would wear such high quality clothing and be willing to save a slum dweller with their magic.”

“Slum dweller?” Subaru hadn’t heard that term before. He was interested in what a ‘slum dweller’ was.

The boy gave him an odd look, as if he couldn’t believe someone didn’t know what a slum dweller was. He gave him a short explanation of, “Yeah, a slum dweller. I live in the slums district of the capital. Did you not know what the slums are?”

Subaru, unsure of what to do, decided to make his boldest decision to date. “Errrrmm, yeah, so funny story…”

Proceeding to confide in a slum-dwelling child about his complete lack of knowledge of anything around him, he kept his sudden isekai out of it and blaming his apparent obliviousness on “memory loss”.

“Geez mister.” Yasuo couldn’t believe his savior's luck, or lack thereof, “You almost have it as rough as we do in the slums! If you don’t remember where you are and you’re broke, do you have anywhere to stay?”

“Nope. I’m just your ordinary Natsuki Subaru,” oddly, not striking his favorite introductory pose, he just offered his hand to the boy again, “not only broke but completely clueless! Nice to meet you!”

Yasuo was quite humored by this mystery ‘Subaru’ man, and chortled a little bit at him, “You are really strange, Subaru-san. If you don’t have anywhere to stay, why don’t you come with me to the slums? My family is actually not too bad off there, and I just finished buying appas from the market. It’s the least I can do for you.”

Subaru realized that this would probably be the only way he had a place to sleep tonight, and was a perfect opportunity to form some new connections. This was also how all adventurers started their journey anyway, so Subaru definitely couldn’t refuse this.

“I’ll take you up on that,” not that he could really refuse, but he still made a point of it looking like his decision. Can’t be having people think you’re relying on a kid five minutes after you meet them. “Lead the way, Yasuo!”

A now excited Yasuo did just that, exclaiming, “Awesome! I can’t wait to introduce you to my mom!”

The two children, the slum dweller and a someone who had nowhere to call home, set out on their journey towards the slums. What awaited them was unbeknownst to all but one. 

“I love you”


	3. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasuo and Subaru get to know each other a little better.

“So, Yasuo, you mind telling me where here is?”

Natsuki Subaru was walking through the apparent “capital” of the Dragon’s Nation of Lugunica. By his side, a newfound compatriot known as Yasutake Yasuo was telling him all about the nation and it’s massive history.

Yasuo: “... And the greatest mage in the kingdom right now is Roswaal L. Mathers. He’s really good at magic, and he can fly!”

Subaru: “I see. Can anyone do that kind of flight magic?”

Yasuo: “Well, not anybody. The reason he’s the greatest mage is because of his affinity with all six of the elements. Apparently his flight is just a bunch of advanced wind magic.”

Subaru: “Wind magic?”

Subaru was already pretty lacking in the knowledge department, and hearing that flight was possible, along with there being six elements of magic was pushing his brain to overflow with questions.

Yasuo: “Yeah, wind magic. Isn’t that what you used on me?”

Actually, now that Subaru thought back to it, Subaru didn’t even know what magic that he used was. It just kind of...happened.

Subaru: “Maybe. I don’t remember being able to use any magic at all, let alone something that only this world’s strongest mage can do. Maybe I really am this world’s greatest hero!”

Yasuo started giggling like mad. “Well, I’m sure if...heh…you train really hard and learn lots, you might be able to beat the sword saint!”

Subaru: “I don’t even want to know who that is.”

Subaru absolutely wanted to know who the sword saint was.

Yasuo: “The sword saint is the most powerful swordsman in existence. I don’t really know lots about the current one, but the original one was powerful enough to seal away the Witch.”

Subaru: “The who?”

Yasuo had suddenly got an extremely panicked look on his face, as if he said something he shouldn’t have. He was glancing around rapidly, as if trying to determine that no one was within earshot.

Yasuo: “I’ll explain that when we get back to my house. For now, I need to replace those appas I just bought.”

The look on his face did not brighten.

Subaru: “Oh, yeah. Sorry I let them get run over.”

As the two walked, Subaru noticed he was getting a few strange looks. It made sense, considering his quite literal otherworldly clothing choice, but he didn’t understand why it was happening now instead of earlier.

‘Maybe it’s because word of my heroic deed spread around.’ Subaru mused. Of course, if he looked a little closer at the faces, he would realize they were looks of disdain, but Subaru didn’t have time for that. Yasuo had arrived at the appa vendor’s stand.

Yasuo: “Hello again, Mr. Kadomon. I need the same amount of appas again. I accidentally dropped them in the middle of the street.”

This Mr. Kadomon character was quite something. Not only did he have a scar running down the left side of his eye, he was also extremely muscular. 

‘This guy definitely has connections that I’ll want. Anybody that reads isekai knows that the guy with the scarface and massive body build is the guy with the most valuable information.’

Kadomon: “Oh, if I had a copper for every time I heard that one. You got money, boy?”

Yasuo: “Yeah, I do Mr. Kadomon. Same amount please.” Yasuo handed what had recently been explained to Subaru as a silver coin. 

“We have four types of currency here in Lugunica. The copper coin, the silver coin, the gold coin, and the blessed gold coin. The only difference between the gold coin and the blessed gold coin is the engraving of the dragon on the blessed gold coin, and the normal gold coin has the sword saint on it instead.”

“Geez, this dragon must be important if he’s worth more than the sword saint.”

“Well, we are in the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.”

“Fair enough.” 

Kadomon: “Hey, Yasuo. Who’s this oddly dressed one with you? He a customer?”

Subaru’s mind snapped back to reality after nearly losing his footing. It took him a bit to adjust, but he realized that the appa salesman was asking about him.

Yasuo: “No, Mr. Kadomon. He’s actually flat broke right now, but he’s really good at magic! He saved me from the street where I fell and dropped the appas by using wind magic.”

Kadomon: “Oh, not bad boy. Thought the only one good enough to do that was that Mathers clown. You trained by him?”

Subaru “Clown?”

Subaru was beyond confused by that remark. It seemed as if Kadomon had a grudge against the greatest mage in the country, which was typical of the information gatherers in isekai, but was never a good sign about one of the people involved. Either Kadomon had fought the mage head on, which Subaru didn’t want to know about, or this Roswaal guy was sketchier than he appeared. Both were bad options.

Kadomon: “Yeah, clown. I take it you haven’t seen his choice of dressin, then. Probably means you don’t know him either.”

Dressing choice? What did that have to do with…oh.

Subaru: “Hold on, he dresses like a clown?”

Kadomon: “Yeah. Nobodys seen him without his makeup in ages, and apparently he’s housin a half-devil.”

Subaru: “Half devil?”

Subaru didn’t really know what to think of the half-devil comment after hearing something about the mage wearing clown makeup. He also liked devils and demons, so he was already more than interested.

Kadomon: “Good god, boy, how uninformed are ya? She just came through here a few minutes ago chasing Felt. Yelling something about an insignia and all that.”

Yasuo, seemingly interested by the mention of Felt, stuck himself into the conversation.

Yasuo: “Felt nee-san came through here? She told me she hated it here. She must have something really expensive if she ran through here.”

Subaru: “You know this Felt? Who’s she?”

Subaru had almost no idea what they were talking about. He knew about insignia’s, as they were fairly important in his manga. They were badges that showed affiliation, and losing them tended to not end well.

Kadomon: “Ask Yasuo, not me. I’m tryin to run a business here, and you two are done buyin your things, so scram!”

Kadomon’s appearance had now changed to that of an annoyed man that Subaru definitely did not want to get on the bad side of.

Subaru: “Um, yessir. I’ll be sure to buy something next time I see you!”

Subaru was pulled away by Yasuo, who despite his appearance was actually quite strong. He noticed the same sour look he got earlier, but it quickly changed when he asked about Felt.

Yasuo: “Oh, Felt’s actually pretty well known around the slums. She’s pretty small for her age, but she has the Divine Protection of Wind. It makes her move super fast. She’s really good at stealing things.”

Even Subaru could connect the dots on this one.

Subaru: “So she probably stole that lady’s insignia, right?”

Yasuo: “Yeah, she told me about a really big job she had today. Didn’t tell me what she was stealing, but she said it would finally bring her out of the slums.”

Subaru: “I take it life in the slums isn’t exactly great?”

It was a stupid question. Beyond stupid, really. Of course life in the slums wasn’t good. It was called the slums for a reason.

Yasuo: “Actually, things aren’t as bad as you would think in the slums. The majority of us are demi-humans, and since nobody else likes hanging around us, we hang around each other. The slums are really nice like that. Everybody knows everyone else, and they’re pretty friendly. Of course, they don’t really like the nobles…”

He turned to Subaru and gave him an awkward stare. Subaru looked at him and then down at his clothing, realizing what Yasuo was referring to.

Subaru: “Oh, don’t worry. I am Natsuki Subaru, far from nobility. Hell, where I’m from, I was considered middle class!”

Now it was Yasuo’s turn to be confused by the words of his new friend.

Yasuo: “Middle class? What’s that?”

Subaru realized that the middle class might not exist in this, considering how Yasuo mentioned only nobles and slum dwellers. Nonetheless, he still tried to explain the “middle class” to Yasuo.

Subaru: “So, the middle class is like people that don’t live in the slums and have money, but not a lot of money. It’s usually enough to earn them a comfortable life with relative ease, but they don’t own super expensive stuff like Lamborghini’s or RTX 3090’s.”

Yasuo: “I don’t know what either of those are, but they sound expensive. What you’re talking about seems a lot like what you would find in Kararagi, but not here. There isn’t really any ‘middle class’, as you call it.”

This was not the response Subaru was expecting. Surely there had to be something other than just nobles and slum dwellers. It wasn’t possible to have a two class system, not even in Japan. All financial classes were crucial there, especially the middle class. Not having it seemed inconceivable to Subaru.

Subaru: “Huh, that’s really weird. You guys don’t have like, merchants or something?”

Yasuo: “Well, I guess they kinda count. Nobody really treats merchants as a class though, more just people that kinda exist. They don’t really have homes, soooo.”

Subaru: “Yeah that’s fair. How do you know so much, Yasuo? You don’t look all that old to me.”

That comment earned him an annoyed look from Yasuo, who gave him a bit of sass in his next explanation.

Yasuo: “Hey, I look small, but I’m actually 13, and I read a lot. Honestly, it’s all really interesting, and I’m one of the only literate kids in the slums. I usually end up reading stories to them from the books the Felt nee-san brings in from her trips.”

Subaru: “Isn’t Felt a thief? If she gets found out, you’ll be taken in as an accomplice to her crime.”

Yasuo: “Felt nee-san would never get caught. She’s too fast for that, and the guards around here focus on...other things, Not her.”

Subaru could guess what those “other things” were. They aren’t exactly hard to figure out given the location and time period he was observing. He was far more interested in this “Felt” girl, who seemed to be able to move extremely fast with something called a “Divine Protection.”

Subaru: “Alright, two questions left. First, what’s a divine protection?”

Considering Subaru’s obliviousness, that shouldn’t have caught Yasuo off guard. Nevertheless, it did throw him for a loop, as if it wasn’t wind magic Subaru used it should’ve been a divine protection of...saving children from wagons or something.

Yasuo: “Well, a divine protection is something you’re born with. You kinda know right away if you have one or not, and you know what it is too. You don’t have one since you don’t seem to know what they are.”

Subaru took this a bit offensively, but recognized it as Yasuo’s attempt to figure out what the hell kind of magic he used. He then prepared his final question for the day.

Subaru: “Alright, last one, who’s Felt and how do I meet her?”

Yasuo looked pretty disappointed in Subaru, but obliged him anyway.

Yasuo: “That’s two questions dude, and you already know who Felt is. She’s a thief, pretty well known around the slums. As for how you can meet her, I was going to check out this new deal she had to see what she was talking about. You wanna come with me?”

Subaru’s face lit up like...well a kid after he just got his favorite candy.

Subaru: “Yeah, totally! I can’t wait to meet her!”

Yasuo’s face lit up similarly. “Alright, then we’ll go see her right after we drop off these appas. Maybe she’ll have some new books for me to read!”

The two children got immensely excited at the prospect of meeting Felt, and started skipping their way to Yasuo’s “House”.

When they arrived at Yasuo’s place, they entered through a relatively loose wooden door.

Yasuo: “Mom, I’m hoooooommee! I brought somebody with me too!”

Inside one of the slum houses, they weren’t exactly ‘spacious’. They had windows, and although dusty, they didn’t have a crack in any of them unlike the majority of houses in the district. They also had a table with 6 chairs around it in the central room, and three doors set directly in front of the entry door. Subaru opened one of them to find a makeshift bed and blanket, although the pillow looked as if it were actually purchased in a low-end shop. He continued his walk with Yasuo towards the table, and noticed a lady with dirty-red hair.

Lady: “Welcome home, sweetie. Who’s this you brought with you?”

Yasuo: “Mom, this is Subaru. He saved my life today, and doesn’t really have a place to stay. Do you think he could stay here for tonight? Pleeaassseee?”

Subaru noticed that this was not the Yasuo he was talking to a few minutes ago. He looked like he was actually acting his...physical age. If it was his actual age, he would’ve given his mom a more firm request and not begged as much as this was. This was some A-grade deception on Yasuo’s part.

Mom: “He saved your life? What on earth did you do? Are you okay, let me have a look at you sweetie.”

His mom now shifting into panic mode because of the life threatening situation her child was treating so lightly, Yasuo's mind got taken off track. Subaru, who was now exhibiting a level of observance that he didn’t even know he possessed, caught on and immediately got into action. 

Subaru: “Do not fret, young miss. It was I, Natsuki Subaru, who ensured your son’s safety. I can assure you that he is completely fine and has suffered no injuries.”

The boy, striking an extremely strange pose, somehow managed to calm Yasuo’s mother down, and she started giggling along with her son.

Subaru: “Eh? Everything I said was true, why are you two laughing?”

Mom: “Young miss? I’m sorry, Subaru-san, but I’m nearly fifty. The days of my youth are long gone, but it was refreshing to hear it from such a young face. That’s all.”

‘Really? She doesn’t look a day over thirty!’

Both mother and child previously in a small fit over Subaru’s antics, had calmed down now. As Yasuo gave her the details of the situation, her face started contorting and Subaru was afraid he might have to reintroduce himself. When he got to the rapid flinging between walls, she almost looked ready to have a full-blown panic attack then and there. Thankfully, she relaxed when she heard he wasn’t harmed whatsoever in the whole ordeal, and they had to go buy appas again.

Yasuo: “And that covers pretty much everything. So can he stay here mom? Please?”

Mom: “Well, it’s only common courtesy to repay a debt. Subaru-san, if you are so inclined, I would gladly allow you to stay here. It’s the least I can do.”

Subaru: “I gladly accept!”

The rest of the day was filled with relative stress free activities until Yasuo said it was time to check out Felt’s deal.

Yasuo: “Let’s go, Subaru! You’ll like Felt nee-san once you get to know her.”

As the two walked towards Felt’s, or more accurately, the loot house as it was called, The two saw a royal knight walking up to a young girl. She looked no younger than 13, and with the lack of physical age Subaru noticed here, she was probably around his age instead.

As the two walked by, the knight started spitting out some truly disgusting words. Calling her a good for nothing slut that should just come with him already and stop resisting. This naturally pissed off Subaru, who turned around only to have Yasuo stop him.

Yasuo: “It’s not a good idea to get involved with those guys. They prey on any girl they can find here, and try to take them somewhere. It never ends well for the girls, but going against a royal knight can end up with you getting executed.”

Subaru: “I don’t care, that’s just not fair! We can do something about it, right, so why shouldn’t we?”

Yasuo: “Subaru, please don’t do anything. I’ve seen so many people get taken away by them, and I don’t want you gone too. You’re really cool, and I want you to meet everyone. You want to meet them, right?”

Subaru saw good logic in his words, but he knew something would befall this girl if he didn’t act here.

Subaru: “Yasuo, I’m doing something about this. You can’t stop me from doing the right thing and trying to help someone who needs it. That's what I did for you, and I need to be able to do it for her too. That’s my final decision.”

As Subaru started walking towards the guard and the girl, Yasuo’s mind started thinking of ways to not lose his new friend. Suddenly, it clicked, and he called out to Subaru.

Yasuo: “Hey wait! What if you used your power to push him away from her? Then he wouldn’t know who got in his way and you would still be able to save her.”

Subaru, once again seeing good logic in his friends words, decided that that wasn’t a half bad idea.

Subaru: “Ok, I’ll try that first then.”

Trying to focus on the knight, he stared straight at where his heart should be and tried to reawaken the power he used to save Yasuo. To his surprise, it came back to him, with the same sense of power flowing through his eye and arm. The final condition to meet was to focus on the knight, more accurately, his heart. Subaru once again saw the blue outline, and slowly moved his left hand to point away from the girl. 

The knight, who was now feeling something pulling him away from his target, tried to walk towards the girl. Subaru, now feeling a little more at ease with the power, flicked his hand down, smacking the knight chestfirst into the ground. Once again, no signs of impact were left on either party, but the knight was scared shitless about what he just got himself into.

Knight: “I-I-I-I’ll have you executed for this! This trea-”

Subaru had now flung his hand towards the left side of the street, shooting the knight into someone's house wall. The girl looked surprised at this new development, and couldn’t quite make out what was happening. The knight, on the other hand, fearing he had just invoked the wrath of a witch, started getting on his knees and praying to the girl.

Knight: “I’m sorry, so sorry, please forgive me for transgressing on your life, I’ll never do it again I swear, I swear, please don’t kill meeeeee!”

Subaru, satisfied with the results, smirked and unfocused his vision on the groveling knight. Yasuo just stood there in awe at what his friend had managed to do. Nobody in the history of the slums, with the exception of old man Rom, had managed to scare off a knight. Making one grovel at their feet for mercy was unheard of.

Subaru: “Let’s go Yasuo, I wanna catch this deal before dark.”

Yasuo glanced up at his smirking friend. He barely managed to utter a “Errm, sure, let’s do that.”

The two left a seriously confused woman and a completely terrified knight behind them, as they made their way towards the loothouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Grim here. This story was inspired by a work of art by u/Quartz_Y. They let me use their picture as cover art for this story, and they're pretty cool. Check them out.  
> Not sure what the update schedule's gonna be like, as I wanna make larger chapters but also put them out pretty fast. I'm gonna need some critiquing on my writing, so please feel free to go at me. Also, literally everybody knows about mohamedasemabas, but he has a discord server to. It's a pretty cool place, and I advise you check it out. https://discord.gg/Pf89eXN6Ys is the server invite, and you can find me under the name of Dr. E. Grimm #1313. You can drop criticism, ideas, etc. Imma need it.  
> (BTW, cannon divergence is totally happening. I made Yasuo a key part of this and I'm not treating him as an exposition machine for this. Sorry for the treatment in today's chapter, Yas.)  
> Grim Out.


	4. A Bewitching Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subaru and Yasuo go to meet Felt and watch this deal she has set up.

The two boys, Yasutake Yasuo and Natsuki Subaru, had just arrived at their destination of the loothouse. A rather large building, the loothouse was probably what stood out most about the slums, if not for its location. Inside was where Subaru and Yasuo were planning on going, where they hoped to witness a massive deal between a thief and a client.

“So, Yasuo, this is the place?” Subaru, who was honestly asking so many questions at this point even he was getting annoyed, yet again turned to Yasuo for answers. 

Yasuo, who was still experiencing shock due to earlier events, barely acknowledged that he was being spoken to by his new friend. He was having a hard time believing his luck.

‘Not only did he save me, he also saved ANOTHER slum dweller he didn’t even know! He didn’t even know me! Who is this guy?’

Yasuo had never been left speechless by another person before. It was always his decision to not speak, but now that this mysterious Natsuki Subaru had come along, he was left unable to formulate a sentence. A man who saved others just because it was the right thing to do. It was near inconceivable, but somehow Yasuo had-

“YASUO!”

Yasuo, snapped out of his trance by the yells of this mystery man, quickly regained his senses.

Straightening his slumped head and trying to close his jaw, Yasuo confirmed Subaru’s earlier question. “Err, yeah, this is the place.”

“That’s cool and all, but I was asking if you were okay. Are you?”

Yasuo blushed in embarrassment, as he didn’t know how to respond to the question. How do you tell someone that you can’t believe they exist?

Finally managing to close his mouth, he actually gave a decent reply: “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, I’ve never seen a knight reduced so quickly and ruthlessly. You didn’t hold back at all, bro!”

Subaru, who noticed something was a little off with the boy, questioned,“Bro?”

Yasuo’s blush further deepened as he realized what he said. He needed to get control over his emotions, and fast. Looking away, he took a few deep breaths. Supposedly, according to one of his books, it was an excellent way to relax yourself and relieve tension on the go.

“Um, forget that.” A terrible coverup of his mistake, but it was his only option. “I’m also really excited to see Felt nee-san make this deal. She’s been non stop talking about how she would escape the slums and bring us with her one day. She says that if we can’t live strong, then we’re no better than the nobles think we are. She’s really cool, isn’t she?”

Subaru, noticing a certain tone in Yasuo’s voice, snickered to himself. 

‘Definitely a crush.’ Subaru, who thought this was the 

With a bit of spunk in his voice, Subaru excitedly declared their next objective: “Alright, then let's go in and witness history!”

As the pairing reached the door, Yasuo told Subaru to let him do the talking.

“They have a password here, and I know it. Don’t worry, they’re both really nice once you get to know them.”

Subaru, thinking out loud, blurted, “That doesn’t give me a great first impression.”

Yasuo gave him a knowing glance, and then grinned. “Don’t worry. They won’t hurt us once they know we’re just here to watch.”

‘That also doesn’t give me a good first impression!’

Yasuo knocked on the door. Subaru wondered if the two raps were part of the password or just a traditional knock.

“For a rat…”

Subaru didn’t know who was on the other end of the door, but they had quite a deep and raspy voice. The lisp at the end almost convinced him that the owner of the voice may be drunk.

“Poison” Yasuo’s delivery seemed somewhat flat. Subaru didn’t like the sudden change of voice.

“For a white whale....”

“A harpoon.”

“To the noble dragon lord, we are…”

In the world's flattest tone, Yasuo finished the password with “Shitbags.”

“HEY! Yasuo, you shouldn’t be swearing.” Subaru couldn’t believe that his young friend had already been corrupted by the evils of the world. He wished for the boy to stay pure, even if it was just for a short while. “What would your mom do if she caught you saying that?”

With the same flat delivery tone, Subaru heard “She taught me how to swear.”

“Ehh!?”

Subaru didn’t have time to refute as the door was being opened. What he saw was a giant, muscular, white haired, black skinned man towering over both him and Yasuo while holding a cup of...something. Subaru was wondering if he should prepare to use his ability, until Yasuo spoke up.

“Hey old man Rom. I heard Felt nee-san was making a huge deal today. You mind if we watch?” Somehow, Yasuo’s tone had changed from the purest embodiment of flatness to an actual voice, filled with some emotion. Subaru wondered if acting was a career in this world, because Yasuo would be world-class.

“I don’t mind you, but who’s this feller with ya? He looks like he might give off the vibe of us bein rich, and Felt wants this deal going through with maximum profit.” Rom sneered just a bit at the end of his sentence. Or maybe that was his drunkenness.. Subaru couldn’t really tell.

Subaru hadn’t taken the fact that his very presence and attire could affect how much was paid for. He was beginning to wonder how much his attire alone would affect his life here.

“Don’t worry, Rom-san. Subaru’s actually more broke than I am.” Yasuo intervened on Subaru’s behalf, since the boy was oddly silent. Yasuo, continuing his defense of Subaru, “He literally has no money whatsoever and basically knows nothing about Lugunica. He should be fine to watch.”

‘Ouch, Yasuo. I get you wanna see this, but did you have to hurt my pride so much?’ 

“Well, when ya put it like that, I feel sorry for em.” Rom’s emphasis on the I hurt Subaru’s pride even further, but it was quickly restored when he was asked, “What’s yer name, boy?”

That was a question Subaru could answer. For the sixth or seventh time today(AN:Seriously, even I’m losing track), Subaru Natsuki struck his introductory pose.

“My name is Natsuki Subaru! A-” Subaru was cut off by the giant stepping backwards and raising his hand to his chest.

Whilst still stumbling backwards, Rom yelled, “What the hell boy? You tryin to poke out my old man eyes or give me a heart attack? I jus wanted yer name, not some goddamn introduction to yer life story!”

Yasuo, while observing all of this and predicting Subaru’s over exaggerated introduction, was holding his chest as he tried his hardest not to burst into a fit of laughter. Subaru, on the other hand, was now getting rather depressed that his introduction had been both ruined and mocked by the giant. It was so cool, and yet he was disregarded because he didn’t...conform…

‘Not now, Natsuki Subaru. You will not go back to being a shut-in just because the older generation doesn’t understand your ways. Yasuo thought it was cool, and so did the people in the plaza. He’s just out of the loop!’

Subaru faltered for just a moment there, until his confidence was somewhat restored. He gave a sheepish “sorry”, and moved on inside the loothouse.

The loothouse’s walls were adorned with several items of interest to Subaru. There were swords, some looking to be composed of bronze instead of the normal Iron, masks, something that looked like a potion, shields, rapiers, and a massive assortment of other weapons.

‘Weird how it’s almost exclusively weapons sold here. It’s not like they’re easy to steal.’

Interrupting Subaru’s train of thought, Rom started talking to the both of them, “Felt ain’t here right now, but she’ll show up in a few minutes. You two want somethin to drink?”

Both Subaru and Yasuo were clearly underage, so being offered a drink was shocking to Subaru. There was no way that the young Yasuo could be into-

“I’ll have the usual, please. Subaru will have the same.”

‘Damnit! He was taught to swear by his own mother and now this old man’s giving him alcohol? What kind of place is this? What happened to my pure, sweet Yasuo?’

Rom, who hadn’t given either of them a second glance, gave Yasuo an, “Ok, jus a moment then.”

Subaru, regaining some of his bodily functions, quickly asked Yasuo, “Hey, there’s no way you’re old enough to drink. Did your mom teach you to drink underage too?”

Yasuo snickered a bit at his friends apparent concern for his wellbeing, and relieved him by saying, “It’s just milk Subaru. Geez, do you think I’m that bad?”

Subaru, realizing that he had been duped by a scheming Yasuo, just sat down and grumbled for a few minutes before the milk was delivered to them.

Rom had also prepared himself a drink, and Subaru didn’t want to guess how many he had today. If he were to actually ask, the exact number was 7 and a half(The half being for his morning booze), but who’s counting?

Rom decided to kickstart the conversation, asking Subaru about his origins. “Ey, boy, where’d you come from? Nobody wears clothin like that this side o’ the world.”

The wording in Rom’s question caught Subaru off guard, and he was interested to see if isekai was something common here. “Would you believe me if I told you I was from another world?”

“Da hell’s that sposed to mean?” Rom stared at the boy, raising his eyebrow. “Yer meaning to tell me you’s from another country? Gusteko or somethin?”

Yasuo saw that this conversation could escalate, and given Subaru’s complete lack of any tact, he had to intervene. “Sorry, old man rom, he’s not really sure where he’s from. He suffers from some sort of memory loss, and can’t remember a thing. He can’t even read or write.”

Subaru was looking forward to getting some information from the giant, and now Yasuo had not only cut him off from that but also dragged his name through even more dirt!

‘I swear Yasuo, you’re cute and pretty smart, but my GOD you’re stupid sometimes. And insulting!’

Of course, Subaru held no actual bad blood, but couldn’t help but feel as if his pride was being trampled over as if it were some toy for everyone other than himself. Meanwhile, Rom was laughing at how much he suspected an illiterate boy. Yasuo was even more of a threat than him, cause he could actually use his head!

As the giant laughed, the trio heard a double knock on the door. This more or less confirmed Subaru’s suspicion of the dual knock being part of the code, but he listened to Rom repeat the code.

“...Shitbags” It was the same code Yasuo used to get in, but the speaker was obviously young and female. This was probably Felt.

As the giant opened the door, he saw none other than the famous Felt of the slums. She was definitely smaller than he thought she would be, though not by much. The blond hair reminded him of the glimpse he caught earlier today. 

‘Wait, was that her?’

His stare managed to piss off the young blonde, who gave him an accusatory look. “Hey, I know I’m cute, but it’s rude to stare.”

“Felt!” Yasuo jumped out of his chair to greet her, with a small milk moustache on his face. Subaru also noticed a small tinge of red on his cheeks, more or less confirming the crush he suspected. 

‘Or did that milk have alcohol? No wait, I feel fine. Relax, Subaru, what are you, his father?’

As Felt and Yasuo chatted it up, Rom came to Subaru’s side. “She’s pretty cute, ain’t she? Ya wouldn’t think such a cute face would be so quick to steal everything ya have.”

“Yeah, Yasuo’s not to bad either. He’s a pretty smart, and can be really observant if you exclude today’s incident.”

“Eh? Incident?” Rom was intruiged, as Yasuo was known to not have any incidents at all.

More than happy to drag Yasuo’s own name through the dirt, Subaru unveiled their little secret. “Yeah. Somehow, he ended up in the middle of the street and I ended up saving him. That’s how we met.”

Subaru would have liked to continue, but at that moment they heard four knocks on the door. Not two.

Everybody in the loothouse had a sudden on guard appearance, save for Felt.

“Don’t worry guys, this must be the client! Sit down and watch a master negotiator at work!” She excitedly reassured everyone whilst running towards the door. When she opened it…

Subaru had never seen a more gorgeous woman in his life. Her silver hair cascaded around her, with small bangs in the front. Her eyes were a pure amethyst, with shining blue pupils. Her cheeks were tinted ever so rosily, and her outfit was that of royalty. Simply put, 

‘Wow. She’s gorgeous.’

However, the three others in the bar did not think she was gorgeous. In fact, Felt jumped back so far she almost went clean over the table that Subaru was sitting at.

“I’m glad you’re here. You won’t get away this time.” The mysterious girl said this whilst giving Felt a nasty pouting look.

‘Even when she’s pouting, she’s cute. Guess that’s to be expected of a parallel world fantasy.’

Felt, still stepping back, regained a little purpose in her step. “You never quit, do you? I’m telling you, give up already!”

The mysterious girl refused to back down, “Sorry, but this is something I cannot give up on. If you do as I say, I won’t hurt you.”

That ending statement snapped Subaru out of his trance, but what happened next put him into action mode. Six Large, floating icicles formed around the girl, with two pointed at Rom, two aimed at Felt, one directed at Yasuo, and the final one focused on Subaru.

“I have only one demand. Return my insignia. It’s very important to me.” She ended her request with an extremely threatening tone.

Subaru was now on guard, and had already primed his magic on the silver haired lady. Whoever she was, she was threatening both Yasuo and Subaru’s lives. That was unacceptable for Subaru.

“Hey, lady, I dunno who you are, but back off. I don’t take kindly to threats.” Subaru sneered at the end of his statement. He didn’t like putting on a tough front, but it was necessary to protect Yasuo and Felt.

Felt, seemingly rivaled by his threat, began to step forward until Yasuo himself stopped her. Turning around to snap at him, she was cut off by Rom.

“If she were just another magic user, I wouldn’t back down, but this one’s trouble.”

Felt’s anger now turned on Rom. “What’s with you old man Rom? You’re admitting defeat before two potential customers?”

Rom didn’t even glance at Felt. “Young miss, you’re an elf, ain’t ya?”

The elf girl winced at his statement, momentarily closing her eyes. Everyone stared at her, awaiting an answer.

“Not exactly. I’m only a half-elf.” She grimaced.

“A half-elf?” Felt turned between the girl and a terrified Yasuo.

“W-wait. If you’re a half-e-e-elf with silver hair, does that m-mean you’re?” A chattering Yasuo looked to be scared for his life.

The girl oddly seemed to be expecting this response, and retorted. “It’s an accidental resemblance! It causes a lot of trouble for me in fact.”

This barely calmed down Yasuo, who now had Felt at his side. Subaru, left clueless, only knew that this lady wouldn’t leave until she got back what she wanted, and would endanger both him and Yasuo if she stayed longer. He didn’t want to kill her, or even harm her in fact. She was still a very pretty girl, and the fact that she was an elf meant trouble, as elves were always overpowered. A conflicted Subaru settled on what would be the best course of action.

“Hey Felt, I don’t think this is worth it. You’ll leave if she gives you back the insignia, right?”

The silver haired maiden looked at him with surprise that her threat got through to him. “Yes, I’ll not harm anyone if you give me back my insignia.”

“Then that’s all there is to that then, right Felt? Give her insignia back. I don’t want this escalating.” Subaru knew that things would get bad if he were forced to use his ability, and although it was still trained on the girl and ready for use, the physical mass of the icicles scared Subaru. Anything that can appear out of thin air and floats is always dangerous, no matter the world you're in.

Felt was having none of it, though. “You were acting all tough a few minutes ago, where’d that go? I have a deal that’s getting me out of here, and I’m not giving up so easily!”

‘Damn, she’s stubborn. I’m not gonna be able to get through to her, and that last bit just pissed off the magic lady even more! What am I gonna do?’

Subaru re-addressed the lady. “Hey, if you lower the icicles, I think I can pull something off.” An attempt to defuse the situation would be what he would have to gamble for.

“Alright, fine. But I still want my insignia.” The ice crystals disappeared around her. As she stepped towards the table, Subaru’s eyes caught a blade raising behind her.

“WATCH OUT!” Subaru flung his left hand straight towards the wall, shooting the elven beauty straight into the wall of the loot house. Icicles started reforming around the crash site.

“What is the meaning of this? I said I would negotiate and-”The girl was cut off.

“A hu hu~ I haven’t seen that kind of magic before.” A black figure emerged from where the strike had originated from.

“I can’t wait to see what your entrails look like.”

The lady emerged completely. Black hair, wearing a minimal amount of clothing, with the exception of a cape. This person was a clear threat.

“I am Elsa Granhiert. You may know me as the bowel hunter. A pleasure to meet all of you.” The lady smiled and seductively licked her kukri.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Wait a second, you’re the client! You got the money?” An annoyed and slightly panicking Felt wanted out of this situation now. She had heard stories about the bowel hunter, and none of them were good, but she still wanted to make her deal.

“Ara~ara. I certainly have the money, but I don’t think I will be paying today.”

Subaru’s danger radar was being set off in literally every conceivable way with this lady. The nickname of “Bowel Hunter” was bad enough, but that and the entrail comment he got earlier had him on edge. He would have to hope this silver haired girl wouldn’t threaten them for now.

“As I see it, the original owner of the item is already here. You couldn’t even lose a half-devil? How pathetic.” The lady was smiling, whilst not dropping her gaze on the party of three. “So, according to my client's request, if you cannot obtain the insignia,” Her smile widened, “kill all of them.”

That was the last straw for Subaru. A death threat was something he had already received today, and this one looked like she was serious. Any hesitation could mean death.

Fully focusing on Elsa, he looked around until he saw the blue outline. Confirming that his abilities worked on the lady, he gave her one final warning. “Lady, I’ve already had a threat on my life today, and I’m not interested in seeing what you have planned for me. Leave.”

This statement, instead of terrifying the bowel hunter, only made her smile wider. “Oh, my. You have quite a bit of energy in you. It will be marvelous to-”

Now it was her turn to be cut off, as she was flung around the building in any way Subaru could move his hand.

“What the…” The small gathering of people in the bar watched as Subaru seemingly effortlessly tossed the lady around with some sort of magic.

‘Whoever this guy is, I reeeaaally don’t want to make him mad.’ The silver haired girl realized that she was probably out of her depth, began to make plans to leave until she heard something she didn’t expect. Two somethings, actually.

One, was a suddenly extremely heavily breathing Subaru, and the other was the vixen he was flinging around. “Goodness. I thought I was going to die.” The demonic woman licked her kukri. “However, it seems as if your attacks have no affect on me whatsoever. How truly disappointing.”

Making up her mind, the elf engaged with the bowel hunter. “Don’t forget about me!”

The lady turned around to see several ice crystals flying straight at her. She near perfectly dodged almost all of them, save for one which cut off her knife holding hand. “Ah, your aim could use some work, but your technique,” the lady watched her arm regrow, “Was flawless. Truly, I am blessed to have such a mixed diversity of opponents.”

The children watched as the two, the witch and the warlock, engaged the bowel hunter.

“Are you able to do that thing again, um…” The girl paused, not knowing what to call him as she had not heard his name whatsoever.

Subaru, after catching his breath, gave her a short reply. “It’s Subaru, and yeah. I can manage.”

“Okay, Subaru, then if you” The two had little time to strategize, as the bowel hunter lept towards them. Subaru, not wanting to see what happens next, flung her across the room and towards the front door. He nearly fell to his knees after doing so.

‘Why is this so taxing? When I used it on Yasuo and that knight, it was nothing!”

This ability clearly wasn’t going to hold out much longer for Subaru, and he was running out of options. Fast.

The girl, who was oddly excited by his placement of their opponent, thanked him. “That works, Subaru. I’ll take it from here.”

The bowel hunter, who now knew what it was like to experience far too many G’s, was struggling to regain her senses. As she did, she saw what looked like a flying cat along with her prey’s arm outstretched.

“Hey, I’m Puck! You best remember that name before you die!” The cat told his opponent all this surprisingly cheerfully.

“Oh dear, does this mean I’ve been had?” The lady asked, with her signature seductive smile and lip licking.

The voice coming from the floating cat instead of her prey, gave her a sendoff. “Goodnight!”

What followed was that of a reincarnation of pure destruction. A massive beam of ice originated from the hand of the amethyst eyed elf, completely ensnaring the target of Elsa. Now it was everyone else’s turn to be amazed, as they turned towards the elf.

“Ya think that got her?” Rom brazenly inquired. Someone was not happy with that question, however.

“Don’t trigger that flag-” Subaru, who was now in a panic because of the flag the giant just set, heard something crash from behind him. And felt pain. A lot of pain.

Looking at the origin of the sudden feeling, his stomach had been sliced clean through, and was starting to bleed. He fell to the ground, waiting to bleed out.

‘Crap, I’m gonna die.’

“Subaru!” The girl to his left cried out and rushed to his side.

“Oh, now ye’ve done it ya bitch!” Old man Rom rushed at the woman, brandishing his club. Subaru couldn’t tell what they were saying.

‘I’m gonna die.’

‘I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!’

“SUBARU!”

A panicked voice filled his ear.

‘Yasuo. I’m sorry. I’m gonna die.’

And yet…

He wasn’t dead. Not yet, anyway. There was a panicking girl and boy over him. His chest pain felt somewhat dulled, but he was gonna die at this rate. There was no helping that. The boy seemed to witness something happen in front of him, and tears rushed to his eyes as he screamed obscenities that Subaru couldn’t hear. He ran off.

‘Oh crap, is he gonna try and kill her? Yasuo, back off!’

He struggled to turn his head to see where his friend had gone off to, and sure enough, he was running straight at the bowel hunter. What she said, he could hear quite clearly. 

“Well, I don't enjoy disemboweling children, but I’ll make an exception for you two. Please give the angels my regards.” There wasn’t even a trace of displeasure in her voice.

...  
...  
…

‘Not...happening’

Subaru’s right side was now filled with a power unknown to him, very similar to the first time he used magic. This time, however, he wasn’t planning on moving somebody. His plans were to remove someone’s existence.

A hand appeared right in front of Yasuo, facing the lady. If you got a good look at it, you would realize it matched the hand of the silver haired half-elf. A small ball of energy appeared in the palm of the hand. It steadily grew and grew,until…

“FOOOOOOOOOOOMMM”

The energy ball discharged into a beam of light, headed straight for the bowel hunter’s chest. She managed to dodge it, ensuring it didn’t hit her chest, but it did blow her arm clean off.

“Oh goodness, still have some fight left, do we? Perhaps I need too…” The lady stopped speaking. She looked down at her still blown off arm. Still blown off.

‘Why isn’t it regenerating?’

The bowel hunter felt something she hadn’t felt since that day in Gusteko...fear. Her arm’s regrowth should’ve occurred by now, and the fact that it didn’t...terrified her. No opponent she knew of could stop this growth, with the exception of her momma. The fact that this boy not only could do it, but without momma's knife...she needed to leave. Now.

The bowel hunter shot out the front door, leaving them no chance to catch her. Meanwhile, the members of the bar fight were trying desperately to save Subaru and one other member of the bar fight.

_________________________________________________________________________________

“There’s nothing else I can do! Can you go get help?” A bell chime of a voice rang out amongst the two children.

Felt was quick to reply, “If it’ll save old man Rom, then sure. I’ll be back.” She ran off at an inhuman speed.

The girl returned to an unconscious Subaru’s side, who also had a small child leaning over him.

“Hey, what’s your name?” As the elf tried to understand what just happened and who she just met, a request for the boy’s name was made.

“Yasuo. Yasutake Yasuo.” A silent, empty response from the boy. He couldn’t even bear to look away from Subaru. This happened because of him. All because he couldn’t pull his head out of a book, Subaru was going to die. At his hands.

The half-elf, noticing the sudden lack of any emotion, tried to relax him. “Well, my name’s Emilia. Just Emilia. You shouldn’t worry about your friend there. He’s stabilized for the time being. Gave me quite a spook when he got his chest sliced open.” She forced a smile for the boy. She couldn’t help but blame herself. If she hadn’t lost her insignia, then none of this would have occurred.

Yasuo, however, seemed to perk up a bit. “Spook, huh? Haven’t heard anybody actually use that word outside of my books.”

Emilia had been teased for her dated vocabulary quite often by those around her. She didn’t necessarily enjoy it, but the lightening of the mood was something she needed. The two sat down and chatted for a bit, before Felt returned with a guard at her side.

The guard introduced himself, “I am Reinhard Van Astrea, here to help. I’ve been given the rundown on the situation, and I’ve already called for assistance. Hello, Emilia-sama.”

“Oh! Reinhard!” Both Emilia and Yasuo were overjoyed at the sight of the sword saint showing up. Yasuo in particular now knew his friend was in capable hands.

Reinhard smiled, “Yes, I am Reinhard. I’ve called my friend Felix over to heal these two. You should know him as the greatest healer in the capitol.”

“Oh thank goodness. It’s good to know that these two will be safe.” Emilia returned his smile with one of her own, except this time it was genuine.

“Yes, indeed it is. I have been explained the current situation, but I am unsure of what has led these events to occur. Could someone please explain this to me?”

As Reinhard was brought up to speed by the three, his eyes widened as he looked down at the black haired boy. Gravity manipulation at such a level was unheard of, only advanced wind magic was known to produce such effects. The fact that he could effortlessly toss someone around whilst not hurting them at all was astounding. Of course, that didn’t change the main issue…

“And so, can I have my insignia back? It’s extremely important to me, and your buyer’s gone. There isn’t really a point in keeping it anymore.” Emilia finished up her summary of events, and made a request. Denying it in front of a royal guard would be impossible, so she had a guarantee it would be returned.

“Yeah, sure. I owe you one, so here you go. Make sure it doesn’t get stolen again.” Felt took the insignia out of her pocket and presented it to Emilia. Reinhard, who was talking with Yasuo about the finer details of Subaru’s abilities, noticed something about the insignia.

Grabbing her hand and bringing it up to his eyes, he couldn’t believe his eyes. “How could this be?”

“You’re hurting me! Let go!” Felt exclaimed. She was returning the insignia, why was she being punished?

Completely disregarding her demand, Reinhard continued his questions. “Who are you? What’s your name?”

Felt, thinking she was getting punished, lightly responded, “Huh? It’s Felt.”

“Hey Reinhard, it’s not really cool to grab somebody’s hand if you won’t tell them what’s going on.” Yasuo tried to intervene, but to no avail. Reinhard continued his interrogation.

“And your family name? How old are you?”

“I don’t have any fancy family name. It’s just Felt. I’m… fifteen, I think. I don’t really know my birthday. Now let me go!”

“I’m afraid not. You’ll be coming with me. I would have liked to overlook this, but overlooking what I am witnessing right now would be a far greater crime.” Turning to Felt, he continued, “I’ll be needing you to come with me. I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to refuse.”

“And what makes you think she’ll accept? Let her make the choice!” Yasuo spoke up from his position over Subaru. He didn’t want Felt to leave.

With the tone of a man who couldn’t make time, Reinhard responded to Yasuo, “I have already explained that I cannot overlook this. If my eyes do not deceive me, she is the final dragon maiden required for the royal selection!”

Reinhard’s announcement shocked everyone in the bar. He didn’t want it to come to this so suddenly, but he feared invoking the wrath of Yasuo and by extent this mysterious Subaru.

Felt, however, didn’t want anything to do with it. “Lemme go! I don’t want to take part in that stupid hodgepo-” Reinhard raised his hand to her head, and she fell unconscious.

“Felt!” Yasuo was begging to panic. He didn’t want Felt to leave, but before he could refute, a new voice entered the fray.

“Reinhard, I’m hyere! Where are the injured?” Turning to the new voice, all members of the small party saw a man with cat ears and a blue dress.

“Ah, Felix. Over here, it’s these two.” Reinhard, while shouldering an unconscious Felt, led Felix over to the two recently injured bodies. Yasuo saw an opening.

Trying to grab Felt, he charged at Reinhard's backside, but was caught by his other hand.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot allow that. I will make sure she falls under no harm in my care.” Giving Yasuo the same treatment as Felt, Yasuo quickly fell onto the floor.

Felix, whilst healing Subaru, started laughing. “How unknyightly of you, Sir Reinhard. Whatever is the captain going tyo think?”

“He will be infinitely more grateful when I bring in this girl. Take care of them Felix.” Reinhard once again turned to Emilia. “Emilia-sama, I do fear that things will no longer be as peaceful as they once were. Do take care. Today may be the last day we can spend with a degree of normalcy.”

Meanwhile, in a location unbeknownst to all…a long awaited meeting was taking place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Grim again. Just giving you guys an update.
> 
> 1\. You probably noticed a change in something this chapter, and yes, it is the dialogue! I'm going to revamp the dialogue for chapters 1-3.
> 
> 2\. Due to the revamping of chapters 1-3, chapter 5 will be taking a while. It should be out sometime this week, but I feel a bigger draw towards the revamp.
> 
> 3\. This is honestly me just thanking you guys. This fic was supposed to be a meme originally, but I honestly am really enjoying writing it, and I'm enjoying reading your comments. This is honestly pretty fun, and I hope I can continue to please. Peace out.
> 
> -Grim


	5. An Audience With a Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I finally get to the main relationship of this story, and some setup for arc 2 begins!

‘Crap… I just died.’

These were the thoughts of Natsuki Subaru, who’s mind had been absorbed by unconsciousness not moments after he summoned a massive hand to blow away his attacker. Or rather, his friend's attacker, as that was who he ended up protecting. Subaru didn’t regret his choice. How can you regret saving someone’s life, after all? He gave it his all, and that was nothing to be ashamed of.

‘I did want...to stay alive though…’

That was his true regret. The inability to stay behind, and ensure everyone’s safety. He would have to leave it up to the others in the bar. Not that he didn’t trust them, all of them except the half-elf girl seemed to be good enough. Subaru didn’t really know what to make of her, other than the fact that her seemingly tough introduction was probably just a front. Subaru knew a lot about tough fronts, after all.

“-ove you”

Oh. He could hear somebody. Maybe he wasn’t dead.

“I love you. I love you.” The voice rang out, repeating it’s love for… somebody. It was oddly soothing to Subaru’s ears, a chime in a seemingly empty void of darkness. Everything lacked any feeling at all. It was the truest embodiment of emptiness, with the exception of the voice saying I love you at random intervals. Subaru wondered how long he was going to stay like this.

An odd, indescribable sensation suddenly came to him, and he could feel parts of his body again. First, came his head, with the familiar wafts of hair in it’s front. Then, his chest, with a reassuring heartbeat. Subaru could now breath naturally, as his head’s sudden appearance gave him the need to sustain himself. His arms came to him, and then his legs. He was about to test his field of movement, when he felt something underneath his head. 

He couldn’t make out exactly what it was even with his moving around, but it was incredibly soft. He couldn’t help but to snuggle into it. What his snuggling caused, however, was quite unexpected. The pillowy substance began to stiffen up, with a small yelp coming from above him. Realizing what this sensation might be, and by extent what he may have just done, Subaru opened his eyes to see... the half elf girl from the bar. 

Her features were the exact same, up to the very point of her ears. The same beautiful silver hair, the same rose-tinted cheeks, hell, even her eyes were the same mix of amethyst and blue. However, Subaru couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the same person. Mostly because of her clothing choice, which involved the same mix of black and orange his tracksuit did. There wasn’t a hint of white anywhere in his sight.

“Errm… sorry about that. Heh…” Subaru sheepishly apologized for his nuzzling into her thighs, the only sign of any light in the surrounding darkness, which he still hadn’t moved from. They were extremely comfortable, after all.

The figure didn’t respond with any words, but looked at him with a sigh of contempt. Her eyes were tearing up just at the sight of him, as if she wanted nothing but for him to just keep talking. Subaru didn’t immediately notice this, as he was rolling out of her lap at the time. She tried to wipe her tears, but she wasn’t fast enough. Subaru caught on.

“Hey, why are you crying? Are you okay?” Subaru’s sudden concern only seemed to make the girl’s tears well up even more.

Scooting next to her, he met her teary eyes. They only seemed to well up more when they met Subaru’s, and what he said next nearly caused an overflow. “What happened?”

No matter how many times Satella tried to envision her meeting with her beloved, she couldn’t seem to quite get the tears out of her eyes. The fact that she was able to hold them in at the sight of him was quite something, and holding them from falling now was nothing short of a pure miracle. However, no matter how many times she simulated their reunion, she knew it would never play out quite as she would expect. This was Natsuki Subaru, after all.

There were many things Subaru could handle, but someone on the verge of tears was never one of them. He couldn’t even stop himself from occasionally weeping at night, moping about his self-imposed loneliness and inability to live up to expectations. That didn’t stop him from nearing the girl on the verge of tears, and slowly embracing her. 

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay.” It was a phrase he would whisper to himself far too many times at night. He never believed it, of course, but it was better than being alone and not letting anything be said. Subaru knew the dark path that was taken if nothing was said. He knew it all too well.

He felt warm water absorb into his trackuit. He held the girl’s head in his right shoulder, making sure her eyes were just above his clavicle. A small sob could be heard, and Subaru gently rubbed her back in response. Yet another thing he used to do, or rather receive. His mother was an expert at calming him down, even if her love wasn’t meant for him.

Satella, on the other hand, couldn’t begin to believe the situation’s turnout. Not even once had she thought about this as a legitimate possibility, and immediate affection and concern from her beloved, her Subaru, completely broke any defenses she had prepared. He was always her one weak point, even after all these years. For a long time, she just lay there, quietly weeping into his shoulder. Finally receiving comfort from the one she desired it most from. Eventually, she managed to pull herself together, and lightly returned the embrace.

The two just sat there, embracing each other. Subaru didn’t know who this girl even was, and yet she trusted him enough to not only give him her lap as a pillow but then cry into his shoulder as he held her. And then she returned that embrace. Clearly, something was not right with the girl. Lightly tapping on her backside, he signaled it was ok to end their enfolding. She pulled away only when he began to lower his arms, and did so reluctantly. The two, clearly embarrassed by the encounter, silently blushed as they stared at the shadowy floor.

Eventually, Subaru decided to break the ice, as he figured they would be here for a while. “Hey, so are you feeling better?”

A still embarrassed Satella, looked back up at him and responded, “Yes...thank you. I’m ok.” It was all she could muster after being hit by such a shock.

Subaru, who was equally embarrassed, decided that relieving the tension between the two would be an excellent idea. “So, although we just had...quite the moment there, I haven’t really caught your name. So, what’s your name?”

Satella giggled for just a moment. He still was the same as ever, giving his all and asking for nothing more than a name. “It’s Satella. Just Satella.”

Subaru gave her a smile and stood up. “That’s a pretty name. Guess it stands it would also go to a pretty girl. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Satella.” He offered her his hand, which she graciously accepted after turning her head away from him at the comment about her being pretty. She hoped he would do what he always did.

Ever the one to please, although he didn’t know it, he did a quick 360° turn, and striking his now famous introductory pose, “My name is Natsuki Subaru! Somebody who, although he did nothing with his life, spent his last moments protecting the weak! Nice to meet you!” He offered her his hand, which she happily shook. Her look darkened a little when he mentioned his “last moments”, though.

“Last moments? I’m sorry, but you’re not dead....” Satella seemed to have trouble saying that last part. Why was beyond Subaru.

“Wait, really? I’m not dead?” Subaru had to confirm this. If he wasn’t dead, then that meant his previous regrets could be extinguished. He could spend more time with Yasuo!

“Yes…” Satella was clearly struggling again. There weren’t any tears in her eyes this time, but anyone could see she was in pain.

Even Subaru could see she was struggling, and so he stepped a little closer to her. “Hey, are you sure you’re alright?”

Satella seemed to be slightly calmed by this, but that didn’t end whatever she was struggling with. She could only barely whisper to him, “Hug...me.”

Subaru did as he was told, and although questioning it, he held her in his embrace once again. He wrapped his arms around her, and touched her flowing silver hair. He had to hold himself back from stroking it. Subaru could feel her cold, sharp, unnatural breathing into his chest slowly calm it’s pace. Whatever she was fighting, Satella had managed to calm it down.

“I’m sorry…” She whispered from his chest, “but I can’t talk to you for long unless you do this...I’m truly sorry.” Satella was upset at the fact that she still had to rely on Subaru. She could never do much on her own, and now she had to rely on Subaru’s heartbeat just to keep Envy at bay. How weak could she be?

“Nobody says they’re ‘truly sorry’ outside of letters, Satella.” A cheeky Subaru tried to lighten the mood between the two. If he was going to get any information from this girl, it served his best interest to treat her well. Of course, he also wasn’t one to object to hugging a pretty girl, but he wouldn’t let anybody know that.

He could feel the corners of her mouth go slightly upwards, and as she wrapped her arms around him, she countered, “That’s not true. Lots of important people say that when they’re apologizing to lots of people.” Her voice seemed to have gained a bit of strength to it. Hopefully that meant something good.

“Fair enough, Satella.” Happy that his new companion was feeling better, he decided to get the conversation back on track, “Now, you said I wasn’t dead?”

Satella paused for a few moments, allowing herself to indulge in her beloved’s body heat before she made her reply, “Yes. Your body is currently completely healed and is in the Crusch mansion. I think it’s about ten minutes until it can host your conscious mind again.”

“I’m sorry, host my conscious mind?” Yet again, the only thing Subaru could do is question. He really needed to get someone to teach him this stuff. Maybe Yasuo would do it.

Satella, however, now seemed eager to engage with him, “Yes. Your physical body is currently unconscious, and your body needed to swap your conscious mind with your subconscious mind so it can maintain itself. Once it’s done readjusting to the fact that you’re completely healed, you’ll be able to swap places with your subconscious.” Her sudden ability to go from small sentences to a full on explanation of Subaru’s condition only added to the mystery of Satella’s own affliction.

A very confused Subaru tried to make sense of such an odd mixture of words, but confirmed his own thoughts with Satella, “That makes some kind of sense, I guess. So if I’m not dead, and my body isn’t...here, then where is here?”

“Ah, this place is my shadow garden. It’s a place only you and I have access to.” She explained, as her own heartbeat became less stressed. She could feel Envy becoming ecstatic, as Subaru gave into his desire and lightly moved his hand down her hair. He almost immediately caught himself, and returned his hand to its original place on her left side.

“I’m sorry, only you and me can come here?” Subaru was now getting a bit concerned with his new partners habits. He really couldn’t help but meet the strangest people, with the exception of Yasuo.

“Well, I should be more specific. You and I are linked only here. This place is technically where all minds come when their bodies cannot support a consciousness. Only you and I are the people that have ‘physical’ bodies.” She emphasized the word ‘physical’.

“Why is that?” Subaru asked.

“Well, for me, I’m forced to live here. It’s a prison of sorts, but the people who put me here gave me a body.” A wistful look was cast upon Satella’s chest-ridden face, as she reminisced over her long time spent here. Always alone.

“I’m sorry, a prison? How long have you been here?” Subaru’s voice now filled with concern. He’d read a lot about what could happen to people in prison, and none of it was good. Who knows how long she’d been alone here.

“About four hundred years…” Satella meekly replied. She didn’t want to drop such a bombshell on him so quickly.

“...Oh god…” Was the only thing Subaru could say. She’d been alone for four hundred years?! No wonder she was so weird! The girl must be completely dead inside. He pressed her further into his chest.

“I-I’m fine, Subaru! Really, you don’t have to worry about me.” Trying to disregard his obvious concern for her, she tried to lightly brush off four hundred years of nothing but pure loneliness and suffering.

“I’m...so sorry you had to go through that.” After standing there and holding Satella in his arms for a while, he managed to formulate words. Subaru didn’t know anything about this girl, but it was obvious she was not fine. Subaru barely handled four years of self-imposed isolation, with occasional visits from his parents every now and then. Four hundred years was an inconceivable amount of time to do even that, and now he finds out that someone so pretty was forced to do so without any visitors whatsoever? Unacceptable!

“I’d...rather not talk about it.” Satella could see where this conversation went, and wanted to stop it. She couldn’t have Subaru concerned for her wellbeing. It wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t allowed to happen.

“Alright.” Subaru wouldn’t push on that matter. He didn’t even want to discuss his own isolation, so it made sense that Satella wouldn’t either, but he would give whoever put her here a piece of his mind. “So, how am I here?”

“Umm...that’s my fault. Since I’m the one that brought you to this world, you’ve been given a lot of my abilities.” Regret was nearly drowning out her wonderful voice. It didn’t suit her at all

Subaru, once again surprised by the girl, looked down and exclaimed, “So wait, you’re my main heroine?!”

“What? Umm, no, I’m not, uh,” Satella really wanted to say that she wasn’t his heroine. That she wasn’t the person whom he should save, that he should run away and never come back. But Envy would not allow that. Satella would have to settle for an alternative answer.

“I’m the witch of envy. I-the reason I’m here, Subaru,” Satella breathed in, prepared to let him hear her greatest sin and ensure his safety, “is because four hundred years ago, I destroyed half the world.”

________________________________________________________________________________

Subaru stared at the girl in his arms. 

‘Her? Destroy half the world? How?’ 

The girl was so fragile, in his mind. When he woke up, she was nearly in tears because of his appearance. When he asked her if she was alright, she broke down in his arms. How could such a fragile girl destroy half the world?

“Why?” It was the only question he could ask. He needed to know why anybody would do such a thing. More so, he needed to know if she was still a threat.

“I-” Satella needed to answer this question. If her goal were to be achieved, this question absolutely needed an answer, “it was because I lost someone very important to me.”

Subaru held his breath. Destroying half the world because you lost somebody? Subaru couldn’t quite wrap his head around such am incredibly stupid idea.

“It’s not something I’m proud of…” Her tone drifted off, and tears started forming in her eyes. Subaru wanted to release her from the hug then and there, but he couldn’t. He needed an explanation.

“I need the full story, Satella. Why did you destroy half the world?” He posed his new question, unsure of what he even wanted as an answer, “Don’t even think about leaving any details out. I’m not letting go until you tell me.” He now came at Satella with determination filling his entire being. He needed to know why anyone would ever do such a thing.

“It-it-it…” Satella struggled to hide her past. If she let Subaru know, she knew he would stop at nothing to save her. She needed to lie to her love. To keep him out of the darkness of her past, to keep hi-

“NOW, SATELLA!” Subaru roared. She was trembling in his embrace, and her heart had started racing again. That didn’t stop him, though. Not for a moment.

“I-I” That was it for Satella, her plans wiped out in an instant. She couldn’t lie, least of all to an angry Subaru. Add on the pressure from envy, and she was backed into a corner with only one way out: telling the truth.

“I was deceived.”  
________________________________________________________________________________

“Four hundred years ago, I walked about the world completely free. I wasn’t known as ‘the witch of envy’, I was just Satella.” Subaru had finally gotten Satella to release the truth of her actions, and his demand for the whole story was the next requirement of his question’s answer.

“I used to live alone in a small forest. It was extremely lonely, and there was nobody around because of how deep I lived in the forest. I thought I would just quietly live out my life there, in my small lakeside cabin. It would have been peaceful, but really lonely. I couldn’t get that idea out of my head. I didn’t want to be alone.” Satella admitted, “One day, I was just wandering through the forest, and I saw someone.” She paused at her memory of this, clearly still fond of it.

“He looked like he was lost, and he was sitting underneath a tree mumbling to himself. When I approached him, he looked at me as if I were a goddess.” Satella, with her eyes still watering, allowed a smile to grace her lips. Those days were truly those which she valued most. “I took him into my home, and we lived together for a while. He was a truly odd character, but having him around was the most fun I had ever had.” Satella’s smile grew as she continued her recollection.

“Sometime, about five months after I had met him, he took me out on one of his dates to a small hill with a bunch of trees on top.” Emotion filled Satella’s voice, as she remembered what happened, “He took my hand in his, and we sat down next to each other at the base of a tree to watch the sunset. I’d never felt happier…” Subaru realized what she was going to say next. “The next day, I confessed that I was in love with him.” A spot on guess for Subaru, and the happiest day of Satella’s life. “He told me he felt the exact same, and...he kissed me.” The tears flowed freely from Satella’s face, remembering the pure bliss that was her first kiss.

Regaining herself, Satella continued, “We spent about five more years together after that. I had never experienced more happiness than when I was with him, and each night he would tell me he loved me. It drove me crazy how much he cared for me, and likewise how much I cared for him.” Envy was now allowing her to speak freely, as both sides of her couldn’t ever get enough of their time spent with him.

“And then,” Satella’s body shuddered at remembering what came next, and her tears resurfaced. “He disappeared.”

“Oh.” Was all Subaru could muster. He didn’t understand Satella’s motive, but he felt he was getting to that part. And he didn’t like the path it was taking.

“I was devastated. He-” She was now full on sobbing into Subaru’s chest, holding onto him for dear life. Subaru felt as if he was going to be crushed, but still held her to him, lightly stroking her hair. 

“I thought he lied to me. He-” She couldn’t stop. It hurt her so much, the terrible things she thought about her lover. He lied about many things, but he never lied to her when it was something they both agreed was important, “He said we’d be together. For as long as we lived.”

Subaru knew this was a hard topic, especially for somebody who had been alone for as long as she had. He didn’t want to push her further, but he needed to know what happened. What brought her to such an extreme. What part could deception possibly play in this?

“In my attempts to bring him back, I met the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora. She took me to the workshop of a man named Flugel, the creator of all witch factors. Flugel told me that if I absorbed the Witch Factor of Envy, all I had to do was destroy something that someone else thought had the same value to them as he did to me.” Subaru saw where this was going.

Satella just kept talking through her choked sobs, “Initially, I refused, but then Pandora said something that changed my mind. I almost immediately absorbed Envy, and well…” Satella couldn’t say what she did next. She just couldn’t. Not that Subaru didn’t know about it, but she was unable to say anything after unveiling her life. All she could do was sob into a boy’s chest, a boy who hadn’t even known her for an hour.

Subaru now had the full story on this world’s most despised being. Someone who was deceived by others in her pursuit to get her loved one back. He was unsure of how to go about this, and rational conversation seemed to be out of the question. So, he just held her, and attempted to comfort the sobbing girl.

“Why?” This time, the question did not originate from Subaru’s mouth, but Satella’s.

“Why did I even do that? How is it fair?” She bawled into Subaru’s tracksuit. Disgusting. Horrifying. Abysmal. Selfish. Scum. All words that perfectly described Satella. “Why did I make them suffer? Why make them go through it too?” Inhuman. Unlovable. Incomprehensible. Without redemption.

And yet...she was still being embraced. Still being comforted. Still allowed to be close to her love. She didn’t deserve any of this. Truly, an inhuman doesn’t deserve things a human gets. She took her beloved here just because of her own pure selfishness, and she forced him to be close to her. She allowed herself to believe that she was worthy of seeing him again. How irredeemable.

“Satella...I’m sorry, but I need to ask one more question.” Subaru attempted to get through to the girl, who was far too absorbed in her own self-hatred to even acknowledge his concern. It couldn’t be meant for her.

His voice reduced to that of a compassionate whisper, he moved her from the position on his chest to his left shoulder, and lightly stroked her soft hair. “Satella...It’s alright.” He leaned her head unto his, all the while she was still bawling her eyes out. He endlessly repeated his previous statement in the most tender way he could, and awaited her to be able to acknowledge him.

Eventually, Satella’s body went limp against Subarus. A quiet “Sorry…” was all that escaped her lips.

“Feeling better?” Subaru asked. He honestly hoped she was, because his tracksuit was quite literally unable to absorb any more tears. It had already begun to seep into his pants.

“Yeah. Thank you.” Satella’s tone contained only regret. She was considered the strongest being in this world, and yet had to rely on an incredibly sweet boy just to make herself feel better. How inconceivably pathetic. 

Subaru happily responded with an, “Anytime. You ready for my question?”

“Yes. If I can do anything for you, I will.” Satella replied. She was a monster, but she most definitely wanted to help Subaru. Not that it made her feel any better.

Subaru’s voice gained a much more serious resonance, as he asked, “Ok then. This is only confirmation, but do you regret it?”

“Entirely.” Her answer was as quick as they come, and her voice rang of pure emptiness.

“Good!” Subaru’s voice had it’s enthusiasm returned, “That’s really good to hear, Satella.”

Satella removed her face from his shoulder to look him dead on. “You realize you said that to the most evil being in existence, right?”

“No, I said it to Satella. If you regret it, then you’re not a completely bad person.” Subaru’s childlike obliviousness was going to send Satella into a complete shock sooner or later. Had it not been for the fact that they were in the shadow garden, her heart would have stopped then and there.

Noticing her mouth beginning to open, Subaru jumped on the opportunity to shut her up, “And don’t try to argue against me either. I’ve honestly had enough for today, and I kinda need some alone time.”

“Oh...yeah, you probably do. I can send you back into your body now.” She hesitantly answered, cut off from her refutal of Subaru’s claims.

“Cool! I wouldn’t mind that. I need to check on Yasuo and the others.” Subaru made his concern clear. He really needed to make sure Yasuo was ok, as he didn’t know how long his consciousness had even been here. That said, he still had one more thing to ask Satella, “By the way, you said that people come here when their bodies swap the conscious mind with the subconscious. Does that mean I can come here when I go to sleep?”

Surprised, Satella gave his question confirmation, “Yes. If you really want to, I can bring you back here.”

“Excellent!” The positivity radiating from Subaru was shocking even him at this point. “After I finish checking in on everyone, I would very much like to check on you. Need to make sure my main heroine is okay.”

“Eh-ehh?!” Was all that came out of a very befuddled Satella’s mouth. “I’m not sure what you mean, but ok. If you honestly want to come back after you go to sleep, I’ll bring you here.”

“Cool! Alright, I’m probably worrying those guys by now but,” He stood up, impressively hoisting Satella with him, “I’ll see you tonight, Satella-tan.”

“D-dummy…” A now blushing Satella, seemingly returned to normal, was the last thing Subaru saw before his vision faded.

“I wish you wouldn’t concern yourself over me so much…Subaru.” Satella finished, her love now gone from the garden.  
________________________________________________________________________________

Subaru awoke in a rather spacious bed, with light trailing through the white curtains of the room. If he had to guess, it was probably morning by now.

“Can’t stay out of trouble, can you Subaru…” The boy muttered to himself. He just couldn’t seem to catch a break in this new world. Always saving this, that, and the other. He really needed a break.

As he rolled out of his bed, he realized he wasn’t wearing his tracksuit, but rather a long grey robe. It’s edges seemed to cover his hands, and the bottom was nearly touching the floor. Hopefully, he could find his tracksuit again. He didn’t like how long this robe was.

As he stepped out of the musty room, he had a look down the hallway to see both the girl from the bar and Yasuo walking towards his room. He barely had any time to even register that fact, as Yasuo came flying into him screaming, “Subaru!” and pinned Subaru to the ground in an inescapable bear hug.

“Hi Yasuo. How long have I been out?” Knowing he only had one way out of the surprisingly strong boy’s arm’s he had to convince him to let go of him. Subaru needed some knowledge on their state of affairs, though.

After making sure his friend was ok and shaking off his jitteriness, Yasuo irked out an, “About two days.”

Subaru had honestly expected to be out longer. “Oh. Well, guess that’s to be expected since I nearly died.” He turned his head to the half-elf, who had by now entered the room and was giggling at the sight of their awkward reunion. “Did you manage to get your insignia back?”

The girl smiled at him, and replied with, “Yes. Thank you, Subaru.”

He couldn’t deny it, she was absolutely beautiful. He knew who he met in the garden was somebody else, but he couldn’t believe how much the change in environment allowed her appearance to shine.

“It wasn’t really that impressive, was it?” Subaru didn’t remember the events of the night all too well, other than he knew he did something to scare off their assassin.

“Don’t be silly.” The smiling beauty said, “You saved me and everybody else in the loothouse. I owe it to you to at least thank you.”

“Huh. Did I really do something, miss? I don’t remember all that much…” Subaru tried to figure out just what he had done, but it was just escaping him.

“My name’s Emilia, not ‘miss.’ I didn;t see, but Yasuo told me you summoned a hand in front of him to blast away the bowel hunter.” She informed him of both her name and what he did.

‘So I was right, they are two different people. Guess that probably has something to do with that ‘witch’ comment Yasuo made earlier. I didn’t expect them to look exactly the same, though!’

Freeing himself from Yasuo’s hug, Subaru stood up and met Emilia’s eyes. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Emilia! I am-”

“She knows who you are, Subaru.” A poke from Yasuo shut down Subaru’s introduction. Subaru would have begun complaining, but then a new face entered the room.

“Oh, Natsuki-kyun, you’re awake? Ferri-chan thought he was going to have to shyake you just to get you up!” A catgirl dressed in a blue and white dress entered the room. Emilia and Yasuo both turned their attention to Ferris, who smiled at them with a catlike grin.

‘Guess that suits her… wait did she say he?!’

Subaru was once again confused moments after being introduced to someone. This was going to need to change sooner or later, because it was becoming quite a serious problem now.

“Ah, Ferris. I see our guests wounds have healed properly. Your treatment was amazing as always.” Another new face entered the room, this time with green hair and golden honeydew like eyes. She wore an unrevealing dress that appeared as if it were a mere undergarment for some sort of armor, and her voice was that of a firm military commander. There was a fairly high probability of her being a warrior.

“Nyot as amazing as Crusch-sama!” The catboy happily replied, happy that his lady was praising him.

“You humble yourself to much,” The green haired woman, now known to Subaru as Crusch, turned towards Subaru, “I am sorry for my lack of an introduction. I am Dutchess Crusch Karsten, of the noble Karsten house. This is my knight, Felix Argyle. He is the man responsible for treating your wounds.”

Subaru was being overloaded with information, but found it in himself to manage a response. “Well, thank you very much! Now, could someone please tell me where I am and where my tracksuit is?”

________________________________________________________________________________

After receiving an explanation for his current situation and being able to dress himself in his preferred attire, Subaru headed outside of the Karsten mansion. He had been explained that his presence, along with both Emilia’s and Yasuo’s was something of an exception to their normal rules. It had to be done covertly so that some organization wouldn’t know about. When Subaru asked questions about this mystery organization, he was told it didn’t involve him or Yasuo, but rather Emilia and Crusch.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, Subaru.” Emilia had to convince her attendant, a pink haired maid known as Ram, to let them stay in the capitol for just a bit longer to make sure Subaru was okay. She had insisted it was just her repaying her debt to him, but Subaru saw right through it. Maybe this girl wasn’t so bad after all. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do for you?”

“Nope!” Subaru happily countered. “I promised Yasuo that I’d live with him for a while, and he can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Somebody has to watch him!”

“Hey! I don’t get in trouble that much!” An outraged Yasuo tried to defend his pride.

“Well, okay then.” Emilia was hesitant to let a debt go unpaid, especially to somebody who had nearly died trying to save her. “But if ever need anything, I want you to come straight to me! I owe you a debt, and I cannot allow it to go unpaid.” She seemed happy with that response.

“Okay, Emilia.” Subaru would have been more than happy to accept her hospitality, as she offered him a place to stay in her mansion, but when he learned that Yasuo couldn’t come, he instantly refused. “If I ever need anything, I’ll send you a message.” He smiled at her. She was much nicer to you if you weren’t somebody who stole her insignia.

“Alrighty then, Subaru. I’m off then!” She finished cheerfully, boarding her carriage.

As her carriage departed, Subaru started chuckling to himself. 

“What are you laughing at, Subaru?” Yasuo, now the oblivious one, wasn’t even sure if he wanted the answer to his question.

His suspicions were instantly ended though, when Subaru said, “I’m sorry, but who even says ‘Alrighty then’ these days?”

The two started walking towards the slums district, laughing about the poor girls outdated vocabulary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, whaddya know, I finally got to the Subaru x Satella part of this story! Any case, sorry for the wait, this chapter took me a while to write cause of school and I honestly couldn't write after finishing the scene in the garden. I was tempted to make that it's own chapter, but I wanted some setup too. Any case, the beginning of arc 2 is next in chapter 6! Woo-hoo!
> 
> Also, side note, there is a reason for the lack of description in Satella's past. We unfortunately won't get to why until the climax of this story, but I can assure you it was a planned move. Enjoy yourselves, 
> 
> -Grim


End file.
